engel



A. ENGEL.

CASE HOLDER FOR BO0KS.-

- APPLICATION man mnzo, ma;

' Patented May 27,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I A. ENGEL;

CASE HOLDER FOR BOOKS.

APPLICATION FILED rg-Ia. 20. m8.

, Patented May 27, 1919.

3 SHEETS-S HEET 2.

Ill/ll lIllll/lll/lllIll/III!!!111111 1,", IIIIIIIIIIII'IIII UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RTHUR ENGEL, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CASE-HOLDER FOR BOOKS. 7

- I Specification of Letters Patent. 'Patnted May 2'7, 1919.

Application filed February 20, 1918. Serial No. 218,272. V

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR ENGEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Case-Holders for Books, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a portable case designed primarily for the accommodation of books, there being combined with the case certain features WlllCl'l adapt it to function as a holder for the books at the time of their use.

In the present device I have aimed to provide a case which is commodious, compact, and light, and hence easily portable; a case in. which books are retained therein in such relation that when it is opened the books themselves are disposed ready for use; a case in which the books are held in a closely grouped arrangement convenient-for interreference purposes; a case having a number of its component parts detachably assembled so as to facilitate transfers or removals whenever desired; and a case having certain of its parts adapted to be associated with a separate holder which is intended for use under special conditions. The invention consists further in numerous other features of construction and combinations of parts, as will more fully hereinafter appear.

A suggestive embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the case-holder as it appears when opened up for use; 4

Fig. 4 isa similar view, excepting that the holder is closed to provide a carrying case;

5 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, 'howmg the case-holder opened up, thebook retainers, however, being detached;

caseolder adapted to be held in the hand when a desk or other support is not available;

6 1s a plan view of a diflerent formofv Fig".-

is a similar view of the case-holder:

shown in Fig. 6, the book retainers being removed therefrom; V

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the last noted holder closed up to provide a carrying case for the books; and

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section through one of the sides of the case-holder illustrated in Fig. 8, showing the manner of attachment of the handle thereto.

Referring now to Fig. 1, my invention is preferably embodied in a case-holder. which is represented as opened up with the parts disposed as when laid on a desk or table ready for use. It will be found convenient to form the device of light boards, of wood, pulp, or other appropriate material, and suitably covered ,or finished oft, the caseholder having the form of a box-like structure Provided with a bottom 15, a back 16, and sides 17 the front ends of the latter elements being preferably beveled as shown in Fig. 3. swingingly attached to the forward edge of the bottom is a front wall 18' to which in turn is swingingly secured a flap 19. The top or cover, designated by the numeral 20 is swingingly connected with the upper edge of the back wall 16. When the parts are'closed to form a carrying case, as shown in Fig.4, the flap 19 overlies the forward edge of the cover 20, and is preferably fastened thereto by a detachable connection such as a snap-button 21 carried by the cover which is arranged to cooperate with a socket 22mounted in the flap.

v To utilize the case as a book-holder, the device is rested upon an appropriate surface, such as the top of a table or desk, the parts being then related as shown in I Fig. 3. Means for retaining at least three books in grouped :relation are detachably mounted tainers, designated generally as 23, are provided with sockets, 24 adapted to cooperate with snap buttons 25 secured to any suitable part of the case. By this means each retainer maybe conveniently secured in place, or be removed, according as is found-desirable. Extending across. .each retainer in parallel relation at opposite ends are mem- 1 bers 26 beneath which the edges oflthe covers of a book may be slippedte hold the same in place. Certain of the retainers are formed to break in one direction intermediate their ends as along the lines 27 (see Fig. 2) so as to be capable of folding, together with a book therein held, when the holder is to be closed up and used as a carrying case. In this connection, it may be stated that the preferred arrangement of the books and their retainers is shown in Fig 1, wherein a single book 28 occupies a position above two other books 29 and 30 disposed side by side, the latter two, in contradistinction to the first, requiring to be folded before the holder can be closed up.

The manner in which supports forthe book retainers are detachably mounted and arranged within the holder is best shown in Fig. 3 wherein I have represented as extending out from the inner side of the cover 20 a shelf 31 upon which is detachably secured, as by means of-snap fasteners 32, a flap 33 which is swingingly connected with a board 34 arranged obliquely between the shelf and front edge of the case bottom 15. Attached to the lower or forward edge of this board is a tongue 35 arranged by some convenient means, as by snap fasteners 36, to fasten to the front 18 of the case which, as shown in Fig. 3, normally lies flat upon the surface of a table or desk when the holder is in use. To facilitate detachment of this tongue, a second tongue 37 is provided, as shown. During use, two of these retainers 23 will, of course, extend out beyond the ends of the board, the lower front edge of the retainers resting upon the surface of the desk or table where the device is placed so as to receive adequate support.

In connection with the case-h0lder just described, or with the device of Figs. 6, 7, and 8 presently to be considered, I have arranged a carrying handle of novel construction. Referring more particularly to Figs. 7 and 9, one of the case'walls is shown to be provided with companion slits 38, through which the ends 39 of a handle 40 are inserted to lie on the inner side. Snap fasteners 41, or other appropriate means, connect the handle ends with the case. To reinforce the slits, as well as to improve the appearance, dummy members 42 are positioned uponthe outerside of the case adjacent the slit, these having the appearance ofhandle ends secured to the exterior of the case. Besides presenting this effect, these dummy members tend to conceal the presence of the slits 3S, and to reinforce the case wall at the point where connection with the handle ends is made.

The case-holder thus fardescribed is especially adapted for use where a desk or table is available. It often happens, however, that a set of'books are to be used by persons in a standing posture, so that this 335" type of holder is unhan'dy. To better provide for such a situation, I have devised a second form of holder which may also be used as a case, if desired, with which the book retainers already described may be employed. In other words, these interior detachable parts are interchangeable with either type of holder.

The second form of holder referred to is illustrated-in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, wherein I have shown two companion box sections A and B swingingly connected and formed of corresponding parts including a bottom designated as 43 and 44 respectively, a fixed side wall designated as 45 and 46 respectively, these walls being arranged to lie in adjacent planes when the case-holder is opened, and in coincident planes when it is closed, and fixed end walls designated as 47 and 48 in the respective box sections. Side walls 49 and 50 are also connected swingingly with the bottoms 43 and 44 respect-ively, these being approximately twice the width of the sides 45 and 46, and the ends 47 and 48. A swinging flap 51 is also joined to one of the swinging side walls, so that when the case-holder is to be closed the box sections may fold together along the upper edges of the fixed walls 45 and 46 where they are pivotally connected, the swinging side wall 49 then being lapped beneath the side 50 while the flap 51 assumes an over-lying position (see Fig. 8). Lo-

cated on the outer side of the bottom 43 are snap buttons 52 arranged tocooperate with sockets 53 carried on the flap 51 to provide a ready means for fastening the flap to the outside of the case when the device is to be used for carrying books around.

Interiorly of the case-holder shown in Figs. 6 and 7, I have arranged certain snap buttons 54 adapted to cooperate with the sockets 24 in the book retainers 23. As will be seen in Fig. 6, one of .these retainers is adapted to be received into each of the box sections A and B, and when so positioned the buttons 54 and sockets 24 afiord a ready means of securing the same in place. A third retainer may be attached to snap buttons carried on tongues 56 which are'secured to the walls 47 and 48 at one end of the box sections A and B, appropriate sockets being provided on the retainer for this purpose. I prefer to bevel the upper edge of the walls 47 and 48 to which the tongues 56 are secured, the tongues being fastened to the inner side ofthese walls so that when the tongues overlie their edges (see Fig. 7) a stop is provided to limit the angle thatthe tongue can incline to in accordance with the bevel of the wall edges. When assembled in the manner described, the case-holder may be held in the hands with each of the three books adequately supported for inter reference.

From the foregoingdescription, 1t'1s to be understood that my invention consists essentially in one or more structures adapted to perform the double function of a case and holder for a set of books; in the provision of certain retaining elements for the books adapted for detachable connection with such case-holders; and in the arrangement of the retainers within the device whereby their relative position remains stationary whether the case be closed or opened up for use. the parts are made, as Well as the means for joining together their several parts, are relatively immaterial, as obviously numerous expedients for this purpose are Well known. Accordingly I do not desire to be limited in the application of my invention to only those forms which have been herein shown and described, but include other equivalent and alternative structures, or modifications thereof, all as set forth in the appended claims, as follows.

I claim:

1. A case-holder comprising a box-like structure having a bottom and back in fixed relation to each other, a cover swingingly secured to the upper edge of the back, and a front swingingly secured to the bottom, a shelf projecting from the inner side of the cover, a board extending from the shelf to the front, the board having connection with both the shelf and the front to limit the opening movement of the cover to a distance of less than 180 degrees, and means carried The particular materials out of which on the board and cover for retaining a plurality of books thereon, substantially as described.

2. A case-holder comprising a box-like structure having a bottom and back in fixed relation to each other, a cover swingingly secured to the back, and a front swingingly secured to the bottom, a board extending from the cover to'the front and having connection with each to limit the opening move ment of the cover to a distance of less than 180 degrees, and means carried by the board and cover for retaining thereon a plurality of books, substantially as described.

3. A case-holder consisting of a box-like structure equipped with a cover, a plurality of book retainers secured within the structure, certain of the retainers being extensible beyond the sides of the structure and being foldable to lie therewithin, the cover when closed operating to prevent extension of the retainers, substantially as described.

t. A case-holder consisting of a box-like structure equipped with a swinging cover, a plurality of book retainers detachably secured within the structure, certain of the retainers being extensible beyond the sides of the structure and being foldable to lie Wholly therewithin, the cover when closed operating to prevent extension of the retainers, substantially as described.

ARTHUR ENGEL.

Witness:

EPHRAIM BANNING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

